Under The Driftwood Tree
by dancerxforlifex3
Summary: Basically just a collection of drabbles about Bella & Jacob's friendship, most of which is spent under their favorite tree on the beach. Edward-free, but not completely anti-Edward. Rated T just in case. A pretty casual story.
1. Pacing Helps

**Hello there :)**

**I'm new to writing Twilight fanfiction. This isn't really a big thing; I'm just trying it out. It's kind of an in-between-two-other-stories project. This is about Jacob & Bella and their friendship. Mostly on the beach. But sometimes not on the beach. Most of them won't be connected to one another, unless I specifically say that they are. :)**

**Oh! And if you're a Maximum Ride fan, I have a finished fic for that one. I'm writing a sequel soon. . . :S**

**So, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight in any way, shape, or form.**

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><p>Pacing helped. Pacing helped her forget that he was late. That he might not come at all.<p>

Bella sat on one of the gnarled roots of the driftwood tree that they loved. She traced the white bark; it was soft under her fingers.

Another minute passed, and it seemed like a year to Bella. Had he forgotten? If he didn't come in five minutes, she'd go down to Billy's and drag him out. Well, unless he was out running around as a giant wolf. Then she'd be out of luck. She still kind of marveled at how her best friend was a werewolf. It kind of depressed her to think about how horribly she connected to humans. Her best friend was a werewolf. She'd been friends with Jessica, but that hadn't worked out too well; as far as Jessica was concerned, Bella was totally out of it. And in a way, she was.

But she was getting better. Being with Jake kept her whole and happy. And if he didn't show, she'd probably end up getting depressed again.

She was startled out of her thoughts as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She twisted around, fright on her face. She instantly relaxed once she saw Jake's familiar face.

"Jacob," she breathed. "You scared me."

"Sorry," he muttered.

"It's okay," Bella said quickly. "Just clatter a rock or cough or something next time, okay?"

"Sure, sure." He sat down on the tree next to her. The silence engulfed both of them. "So, um, how are your, dare I say, human friends?" He raised his thick eyebrows.

Bella chuckled; a dry, humorless laugh. "Oh, just dandy."

Jacob nodded, getting that Bella didn't want to talk about it anymore. There was always that connection with them, that they could guess what the other was thinking, without actually having to voice anything. It reminded Bella a lot of. . .someone she knew, actually. Emphasis on the past tense.

Because not even Jacob could keep that pain away.

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><p><strong>Pleeeeeease tell me what you think? This chapter is pretty boring. . . I'll have another up soon. This is introductory.<strong>

**Please do tell me if I should even attempt to continue this, please. :)**

**Stay gold, Ponyboy :)**


	2. You Really Can't Cook

**I'm just gonna keep posting this and see where it goes. . . :P**

**I love how easy it is to write drabbles. . .**

**I just looked down and screamed because my dog is sitting right next to me looking at me with big eyes for who knows how long.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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><p>"You're ruining it, Jacob." Bella laughed, a full, honest-to-God laugh. The kind of laugh she hadn't had in a while.<p>

"You know I'm no Rachel Ray," Jacob rumbled, struggling to save what he could of the fried chicken they were making. It astounded Bella how little Jake could cook. Shouldn't he be able to cook more than that? Didn't he make dinner for himself? If he did, Bella didn't want to know what kind of. . .creations he'd made.

Bella poked at the sizzling chicken with a spatula. It didn't budge. She finally forced the spatula under the chicken cutlet, and found out why she'd had such trouble removing it; it'd been scalded to the pan on the other side. The skin was blackened. She looked up at him in exasperation.

"You really _can't_ cook, can you?"

"I told you." Jacob grinned recklessly. Bella smiled and bumped his shoulder with her own.

"Let's try to save this before Charlie gets home."

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><p><strong>Fantastically short.<strong>

**Review, tell me what you think, and stay golden.**

**That's gonna be my new signoff for like ever.**


	3. Damn Soda

**Sort of long, as far as drabbles go...**

**I missed dance on Tuesday for my band concert, and then found out that we looked at costumes that day. Soo mad. -_-**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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><p>Jake seemed kinda magical when he did this kind of stuff, Bella marvelled in her head. It was so amazing how he just seemed to take a part, fit his fingers around it, and automatically know where it went. It was like this mechanics stuff was just a simple child's jigsaw to him. Something that he could do with his eyes closed.<p>

Bella was so occupied with watching him work that it surprised her when he suddenly straightened up and looked at her. Startled, she realized she could see her own reflection in his deep-set brown-black eyes.

"It must be so boring for you to sit here and watch me work," Jake said, carelessly wiping his hands off with a grubby towel.

Bella shook her head. "Surprisingly, no," she admitted. "I _like_ watching you work. It's ... like magic."

Jake snorted. "Don't go all gung-ho magic-is-real on me."

She shook her head and smiled softly.

Jacob stood and moved to a torn-up cooler in the corner. "Coke?" he offered, holding up a can. Bella nodded, and he mimed throwing it to her before actually tossing it. Of course, with her miserable hand-eye coordination, Bella missed, and the thing bounced off the floor and obtained an impressive dent before rolling out the door.

"Dammit," Bella muttered, chasing after it. Once she got it, she returned to the garage and plopped down next to Jake on a lawn chair. She slipped her finger under the tab and popped it.

And the whole thing exploded and fizzed all over Bella and her best friend.

"Bella, you could make even tap water go wrong in some way," Jacob muttered, wiping his face with his sweatshirt.

"Yeah," she sighed, faux-sadly. "I know."

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><p><strong>Longer by word count, anyway.<strong>

**Review, tell me what you think, and stay golden.**


	4. That's How To Throw A Stone

**Funny story, this was supposed to be chapter three, and the last chapter was supposed to be chapter four. But I'll live.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

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><p>The sun seemed to shine directly on the gnarled roots of the tree that Jacob and Bella were seated on together, tossing rocks out to sea. Well, Bella's tosses never really reached the water, but Jacob's tosses skidded across the sand and into the water with ease.<p>

Frowning, Bella drew her arm back and threw as hard as she could. "Ow!" she cried, clutching her shoulder.

"What'd you do?" Jacob demanded.

"I dunno. I think I cracked my shoulder. If that's possible" She rolled it a couple times experimentally. "I'll live."

Jake pushed himself off the tree root. "C'mon." He motioned to her with a grin. "Stand up. I'm gonna show you how to properly toss a stone. Pick a stone." Bella randomly reached down and grasped hold of a pretty lavender rock. She offered it to Jake, but he shook his head and curled her fingers around it. He turned her so that her back was facing him. He wrapped his big hand around her smaller one, fitting his arm against hers.

"Ready? On the count of three, release the rock." Bella nodded. "One. Two. Three!" Jacob pushed her arm with his own, and shielded his eyes from the sun as he watched it skitter across the water and finally sink in the shallow surf.

Jacob laughed, a radiant, hearty sound, and high-fived Bella. "And that, my friend, is how to throw a stone."

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><p><strong>Review, tell me what you think, and stay golden.<strong>


	5. Let's Just Leave

**I forgot about this story, cause I've been writing the sequel to my Maximum Ride story. Not that anyone's really reading this, but yano. (:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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><p>Bella stood by a big oak tree, feeling horribly out of place among her human friends. She'd been invited to this party for Jessica and had decided to go. . .only to regret it once she was there. She realized that she didn't feel like talking to half the people that were present, and the other half that she might've talked to were constantly moving around the house and stopping to dance and talk to other people. No one noticed the plain-looking girl standing alone by the big tree in the yard.<p>

"Wanna get out of here?"

Bella jumped and almost hit her head on the tree. She spun around to see Jacob, hidden within the folds of the shadows, teeth glinting faintly in a huge smile.

"Why are you here?"

"Nice to see you too," Jacob said sarcastically, then answered her question. "I was out running patrol and I heard music and such. I ran a little closer, and I picked up your scent. So I phased and here I am." He stretched his arms out like he'd just jumped out of a birthday cake.

"I'm glad you are. Let's go." She shoved him into the trees.

"Don't you hate the forest?" Jacob sounded genuinely surprised.

"I don't want Jess to see me leaving." She glanced back at the party. "And besides, I figure you've got freaky wolfish instincts and you won't let me trip over my own two feet."

Jacob grabbed her hand and hauled her up and away from the ditch her foot had almost fallen in. "Yeah," he said, "it's a good thing I'm here."

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><p><strong>Review, stay gold, all that.<strong>


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